Christa Pike's execution doctor says misplaced IV sent lethal drugs into her arms instead of veins

The doctor who participated in Christa Pike's says an improperly placed IV sent lethal drugs into the tissue of her arms instead of her bloodstream — and acknowledged the execution team should have stopped when the death row inmate complained of pain.

Dr. Mark Fowler, who served as the physician during Pike's Sept. 30 execution attempt, offered a rare firsthand account of what went wrong in an interview with New York Magazine published Friday.

Pike, 50, survived after receiving two doses of pentobarbital and was hospitalized for days before eventually regaining consciousness.

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The doctor told the magazine he knew something was wrong when Pike's execution stretched to about 45 minutes. When he was called into the chamber, she was still alive and gasping for air.

Fowler said he initially considered whether Pike's response to the medication could simply be taking longer than expected and decided to give it more time.

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As another half-hour passed, he became concerned that Pike could survive with irreversible brain damage. Fowler later diagnosed her as comatose before a deputy commissioner ordered the execution stopped.

He then ordered oxygen, and Pike was taken by ambulance to Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

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Fowler told New York Magazine that the IV used to administer the pentobarbital had not been properly inserted into Pike's veins.

"It was delivering medicine to the subcutaneous tissue" of her arms, Fowler said.

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Pike's attorneys previously said in a court filing that she complained of severe arm pain during the execution, telling those in the chamber, "My arm feels like its about to burst open."

"They should have stopped and reassessed, and they didnt," Fowler told New York Magazine.

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The account comes days after Pike described the aftermath of the failed execution in a statement released by her attorneys,